January 1, 1850 to January 1, 1880

John C. Robinson never owned any slaves. He was born in Binghamton, New York and served as a Union general during the Civil War. Despite his Northern background, Robinson objected to the passage of Special Field Order No. 15, which granted massive amounts of land to former slaves in January of 1865. On February 1, 1865 Robinson sent a letter to President Abraham Lincoln in which he argued against...

In the fourth year of the American Civil War, the country found itself in a pivotal moment in history. With no certainty of how long the nation would remain engaged in a bloody stalemate, the American citizens had the power to steer themselves out of political, militant, social and economic unrest. The Election of 1864 poised the Confederacy-backed Democratic Party against Republican and...

George N. Linns, a plantation owner in Jefferson County, Colorado who owned many of his slaves at a time of war was forced to release them (Thomas, as he was named by his slave master George was one of these slaves). At age 22 Thomas was a young black man and he was forced to serve as a soldier for the European American army in 1865. He was not well educated in reading or writing and neither well...

Florida became United States territory in 1821. Up until then, the Spanish had ruled the land for almost three hundred years. When Florida achieved statehood, the total population was twelve thousand, the majority consisting of free blacks, fugitive slaves, or Seminole, Creek or Mikasuki Indians. Some blacks found the more relaxed racial climate to their liking. By the 1730s, Spanish Florida existed...

Charles James lived in Missouri but fought for the Confederate army in Virginia during the Civil War. In a letter to his sister on February 13, 1865, he discussed the problem the Confederate Army had with absentees and deserters at the beginning of 1865. In an attempt to coax these soldiers back into the army, James stated that General Lee [issued] a general order granting amnesty to all who will...

New to the Little Rock area, John Levering, a U.S. colonel from Indiana, needed a place for his family to live. Recently re-stationed to the city from New Orleans, he found the best hotel in town uncomfortable and unsuitable for a Union officer. In January 1865, Levering encountered a desirable solution. Levering casually visited a local, celebrated lady of society, a Mrs. S--, and informed her...

According to a late Confederate soldier, after the capitol of the Confederacy, Wilmington, North Carolina was the most important place in the South. It lay just two miles north of the Cape Fear River, right on the Atlantic coast. Wilmington was an important port for the export of tar, turpentine, pitch, and lumber. The people of this small North Carolinian town were shrewd, hospitable, intelligent,...

In February 1865, the Richmond Enquirer printed a general order for those who had lost faith in the Confederate war effort and deserted, offering them a way to honorably rejoin their fellow Confederates in the fight. As many Confederate soldiers deserted and returned to their families, General Robert E. Lee appealed to their "honor and duty" by presenting only two options: "war [or] abject...

Chicago, during the 1860’s, was an up-and-coming commercial city filled with buzz, people, industry and trade. Steamships and large boats rolled down rivers, canals, and out into and in from the mighty Lake Michigan. Streets were filled with the hustle and bustle of shoppers and market traders. John Francis Campbell, who visited Chicago from England in 1864, likened the city to a major European...

During 1864, General Jubal Anderson Early commanded the Confederate Army in its last invasions of the North. Early routed almost two-thirds of Sheridan's forces at the Battle of Cedar Creek (October 19, 1864), but Sheridan's forces quickly rallied to defeat Early in a decisive victory there, leaving the remaining troops hungry and exhausted. After the defeat, most of Early's troops would...